As I did create the uni-link plugin I did think about these possibilities too. … It’s possible to do everything you wrote with links. eg:
- We could replace transclusions with eg:
[[tiddler alias|?}template]] - We could replace simple macro calls without parameters with eg:
[[tiddler alias|?>macro-name]]
But as you can see, we would create a completely new syntax, with limited functionality … The reason why I didn’t implement any of those possibilities is: We have existing and “battle tested” solutions that work out of the box: macros and transclusions
But you are right, macrocalls are complex to type, if you don’t have toolbar buttons to insert them.
I did create the custom-markup plugin, which allows you to create your own syntax for block-elements like paragraphs and for inline-elements similar to the link syntax.
Custom-markup can abstract complexity away in the writing process. … BUT … to achieve this, you need to invest some work upfront. … So the “complexity” isn’t gone away, it’s moved around.